Chapter 38
Raul Lobo-Rojo
At 1000 on Friday afternoon four weeks after Michael and Amanda returned from Jaguarville, she was standing outside of his office knocking on the door. Without waiting for his response, she opened the door and walked in. She wasn’t worried about possibly interrupting anything she shouldn’t be; Michael had proven himself to be a very honorable man, even if her mother hated him; but, Ophelia hated all humans. There was also the fact that, after she had accidentally interrupted a very important meeting, they had agreed to a sign that told her to wait for an invitation to enter before she walked in and the sign wasn’t in place.
When Amanda walked into his office, Michael looked up and smiled at her. He got up, walked to her, took her in his arms, and kissed her. “Hello, Beautiful.” He said. “What can I do for you this fine Friday afternoon?”
She snuggled closer and said, “Mmmm. I still can’t get used to that. It’s hard to believe that, just a few weeks ago, I had to initiate any kisses we shared.”
“What can I say, Sweetheart? When I finally overcame my upbringing, I was able to open my heart to you completely.
“Why are you here? Why aren’t you working?”
“Mr. Blaidd said he didn’t need me anymore today and I could go home if I wanted. I decided to accept his offer because I want to make myself look as nice as possible for our date tonight.”
“Sweetheart, you look nice every time I look at you.”
She smiled appreciatively. “Flatterer.” She said.
“Nah. I don’t lie. Well, you go on home and try to make yourself look better than you do right now.”
“Try?”
“Yes, try. I doubt you could make yourself look better than you do right now.” Michael said as he smiled and winked at her.
She gave him another quick kiss and said, “I’ll see you around 1200.” She looked over his shoulder and said, “Bye, Albert.”
She turned and sashayed out of Michael’s office. He watched her leave and looked at the door for several seconds after she closed it. As Amanda walked away, he was reminded of a line from a song he’d heard 20,000 years earlier, “I hate to see her go but love to watch her leave.” Finally, he shook his head and, still smiling, returned to his desk. A voice to his left got his attention.
“Did you forget about me?”
As he sat down, Michael laughed and said, “No, Albert. I could never forget about you. I just have my priorities straight just like you do now.
“Okay, now about your performance report.”
**********
At 1200, Michael was climbing the stairs to Amanda’s third-floor apartment. He paused on the second-floor landing as he heard a soft moaning coming from Angelique and Oskar’s apartment. Smiling and shaking his head, he continued to Amanda’s apartment. He was somewhat glad that Angelique and Oskar were busy reacquainting themselves with each other. He still had a hard time believing that Oskar didn’t mind Angelique answering the door in the nude. He arrived at Amanda’s door and his knock, one rap, a short pause, and four more raps in quick succession, was well-known by Amanda since no one else knocked on her door the way he did.
“Come in, Michael.” She called from her bedroom.
Michael opened the door just as Amanda stepped into the living room. Before he could react, she ran up to him, jumped into his arms, and kissed him. As she kissed him, Michael closed the door. After several seconds, Amanda broke the kiss and laid her head against his chest. She said, “I know I said it earlier today but, I can’t get used to that. It’s hard to believe that, just a few weeks ago, I had to initiate any kisses we shared and, even though you always accepted them, you never seemed to want me to kiss you.”
“Well, get used to it. Now that I’ve accepted having a relationship with you, I’ll do almost anything I can to make you happy.”
With a mischievous smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes, she replied, “How about sharing a bed?”
He looked at her, smiled slightly, and said, “Do you remember the first weekend in Jaguarville?”
“Mmmm. Vaguely. I was in heat; that’s all I can remember clearly.”
“Then, I’ll remind you. Until our wedding night, I’ve got no problem sharing a bed with you, as long as all we do is sleep.”
She laughed and said, “You and your morals.”
“Better to have morals and no unwanted kits than to not have morals and have kits and no one to help rear them.”
She pulled him closer, kissed him, and said, “I doubt very seriously that you’d run off if you got me pregnant, Michael. Besides morals, you have a strong sense of honor. It’s one of the things I love about you. Oh, yeah. I doubt my father would let you get away with it anyway.”
“That’s another good reason.” He laughed and continued, “And that strong sense of honor is the biggest reason we won’t make love until our wedding night.”
She smiled seductively at him and asked, “Is that a marriage proposal?”
He thought for a few seconds and said, “It does sound like one, doesn’t it?”
Even more seductively she said, “Ye-ee-es.”
“Then, it is. So, let me make it official.” He got down on one knee, took her hand, and said, “Amanda, will you do me the honor of being the first person I see every morning and the last person I see every night?” She looked at him oddly until he smiled and said, “Will you marry me?”
She threw her arms around his neck, hugged him tightly, and kissed him passionately as she said, “Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been waiting to hear those words from you for the last eight months.”
Michael held her for several seconds before he said, “Amanda?”
“Mmmm?”
“Why don’t you have any clothes on?”
“I’m wearing a bra, panties, and housecoat.”
“Yes, but they are all flimsy and the housecoat is untied.”
“Don’t you like my body?” She asked as she leered at him.
“That’s beside the point, Sweetie. We’re going to be late for our dinner reservation if you don’t finish getting dressed. And wear something nice so we can celebrate our engagement.”
Amanda smiled sweetly, turned, and walked back to her bedroom. She returned a few moments later wearing a loose Kelly-green skirt that reached about ¾ down her thighs, a sleeveless canary yellow blouse, black sandal style shoes with two-inch heels, and carrying a small black purse.
The Italian Greyhound restaurant was owned by, believe it or not, an Italian Greyhound from Finice by the name of Italo Levriero. As was the case with most Humanimals from other parts of the world, Italo had a mild accent. He was relatively short at only 5’6” tall and weighing about 135 lbs. He was a very friendly and outgoing person who enjoyed meeting people. When Amanda brought Michael to the Italian Greyhound the first time, Italo took an immediate liking to him and made sure that Michael sampled all of the dishes that were available at the restaurant. Italo told Michael that he wanted to make sure that Michael knew what was available to order and to know how well it was prepared.
Michael became a big fan of the Italian Greyhound restaurant but, as he told Italo, he had been a fan of Italian food since he was a young boy. When he and Amanda would go out to dinner, they would go to the Italian Greyhound when they wanted to experience an intimate atmosphere and to The Blue Deer restaurant when they wanted to experience a less intimate atmosphere. Because they were celebrating their engagement, Michael wanted the more intimate atmosphere so he and Amanda could sit closer to one another without anyone wondering what was going on. Plus, he was craving some Italian cuisine.
**********
After dinner at the Italian Greyhound restaurant, Michael and Amanda decided to go to Bruno’s and see if their friends were there. After greeting everyone, Michael and Amanda sat down and ordered something to drink. Michael, being the designated driver, chose a non-alcoholic drink and enjoyed everyone else having a good time. He was still surprised at the pairings because, even though he was slowly becoming inured with Humanimal society, he still had a hard time overcoming the fact that, to him, mortal enemies could be friends and lovers.
As he sat at the table, Michael heard a commotion. He turned his head and saw a wolf guy harassing a feline waitress. He was following the waitress and making overtly sexual comments to her. It was obvious from the way the wolf walked, or tried to walk, that he was drunk. Michael looked toward Bruno and noticed that he was about to walk over to the wolf and forcibly evict him from the tavern. Normally, this wouldn’t bother Michael but, this time, for some strange reason, Michael felt a need to intervene. He motioned to Bruno to let him handle it.
Michael excused himself, walked over to the wolf, and said, “Oh, my, God! I can’t believe it! Is it really you!?”
The wolf stared at Michael through drunken eyes. After a few seconds, he said, “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
“I can’t believe that you’ve forgotten me. We were so close in Basic Training.” Michael was taking a chance that the wolf was former military. “Don’t you remember me? Michael. Michael Thomson, like the gazelle.”
The wolf stared at Michael again before saying, “ Oh. Oh, yeah. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great. Uh, I’m sorry, my friend. But, you know how I’m great with faces but lousy with names.”
Once again, the wolf stared at Michael as if he was trying to place how he knew Michael. However, he said, “Raul. Raul Lobo-Rojo.”
“Ah, Raul. Now I remember. Hey! Why don’t you come over here and meet my fiance and our friends.”
“Your . . .”
“Yeah, I know. You always said you didn’t believe I’d ever find a woman because I was so shy and a wee bit nervous around Humanimal women but, wait until you meet my Amanda. She’s absolutely gorgeous.” Raul let Michael lead him away from the waitress and over to the table with all of his friends.
Michael introduced Raul to everybody and when he got to Amanda, he slowly nodded his head as he said, “Amanda, Sweetie, you remember me talking about my great friend in Basic Training, Raul? Well, this is him.”
Amanda took Michael’s hint and happily said, “Yes! I remember you talking about Raul. How are you doing, Raul?”
Michael continued with the introduction, “Raul, this is my fiance, Amanda Fuchs.”
“I’m doing all right, Miss Fuchs. Are you really Michael’s fiance?”
“I most certainly am.”
“I’m happy for you. Michael is such a great human. He deserves a woman as beautiful as you are.”
Slightly embarrassed by the compliment, Amanda said, “Thank you for the compliment, Raul.”
Even though she’d changed her attitude toward Michael after spending time with Robert’s family, Wanda was still surprised at how Michael was treating Raul. She knew that everything that Michael was saying to Raul was a lie so, the fact that Michael seemed to be helping the wolf, surprised her. However, she decided to get into the spirit of the situation and said, “So Raul, was Michael as friendly to you during basic training as he told us he was?”
Raul looked at her and said, “To tell the truth, I can’t really remember. He was always rather quiet and tried to not draw attention to himself.”
Everyone drew Raul into conversation because they knew that Michael had an ulterior motive for claiming to be Raul’s friend and they wanted to find out what that motive was. It wasn’t long before they found out.
“So Raul,” Michael asked, “where’s your wife? What was her name again?” Everyone, except Raul, looked at Michael like he’d asked the most personal question he could ask anyone.
Raul’s eyes started tearing up as he said, “Her name’s Consuelo. She left me, Michael. She took our son, Felipe, and left me.”
“Oh Raul, I’m sorry to hear that. Should I ask what happened? Do you want to talk about it?”
“Well, I don’t know if you remember, Michael, but I had chosen automotive mechanic as my career in the Army.” Michael nodded as if he was remembering this. “I was good at it. I was so good that, after three years, I had been promoted to Staff Sergeant. The Army tried to convince me to stay in but, Consuelo had just given birth to Felipe and I felt it would be better for me if I got a good-paying job in civilian life.
“I got a job and after a couple of years, I was being considered for supervisor. Several of the mechanics who had been on the job longer than I thought that they deserved the position even though they didn’t do two-thirds the work I did nor could they diagnose a problem as easily as I could.
“When we had our winter holiday party, we were all invited to the manager’s house for the party. I hadn’t planned on going but Consuelo wanted to meet the guys I work with so we found a sitter for Felipe and we went.
“Sometime during the night, Consuelo and I got separated and I was introduced to this rather attractive rat with lovely white hair. She seemed rather interested in me and kept standing closer and closer to me and she kept touching me, never blatantly just casually.
“You know me, I don’t drink very much alcohol but, my co-workers kept getting my drink refilled. I believe they were spiking the drink with alcohol or something. All I know is that I blacked out and when I came to, I was naked, lying on my back in a bed, and that rat was also naked and lying on top of me. Just as I came to, the door to the bedroom opened and I was looking directly in the eyes of Consuelo. She had a look of utter shock and betrayal on her face as she turned around and practically ran from the house.
“I pushed the rat off of me, pulled on my pants, and raced after Consuelo. But, she had gotten to our car and left before I could get to where we had parked.
“Michael, I had never cheated on Consuelo before and I didn’t want to do it that night.” Raul turned his head and Michael could see the tears forming in his eyes.
Raul continued, “When I finally got home, Consuelo had left and taken Felipe with her. That party was on Saturday night and I didn’t hear from Consuelo for a week. I had no idea where she was.
“On Monday after the party, I got to work at my normal time. As I walked to my locker, I heard one of the guys that were jealous of the fact that I was being considered for supervisor talking to someone else. He said, ‘Man, it was great. I got Raul drunk, got his wife away from him, set him up with that porn actress, and made sure that his wife saw them together in a compromising position.’
“You can be sure I was more than a little angry. I walked over to where that guy was and said, ‘You son of a bitch. Why? Why did you do that to me?’
“He said, ‘Because I wanted to be the supervisor and you, you wolf, you were going to be offered the position. Now, I’ve gotten my revenge. I hope you enjoy losing your wife and son.’ Then, he laughed.”
Jonathan asked, “What did you do?”
Raul looked at Jonathan and said, “I hit him just as hard as I could. I knocked him out with one punch. I stood over him and was going to hit him again but one of the other guys grabbed me and pulled me away from him.”
Albert asked, “What happened to him after you were pulled away?”
“I don’t know. The manager heard the altercation, came out of his office, asked everyone what was going on. They told him what I’d done; however, they left out the reason I did it. He told me to go with him to his office. I tried to explain to him why I had done it but, unfortunately, the company’s policy was quite explicit. Fighting on company property was forbidden. It didn’t matter what the reason for the fight was and whoever instigated the fight was to be automatically released. I lost Consuelo, my son, and my job all within two days.
“I went to every garage in town and asked for a job. When they read my resume, they were interested; however, when they called my former employer, he told them why I lost my job and they would withdraw the job offer.
“Michael, I’m not a fighter. I hate fighting but . . .” Raul broke down and sobbed softly.
Michael looked around the table and saw the sadness in everyone’s eyes. After a few seconds, he reached over and patted Raul’s back and said, “I wish I could honestly say that I know how you feel, Buddy, but I can’t. All I can say is, I sympathize.”
Raul looked at Michael and said, “That’s all right, Michael. I shouldn’t have burdened you with my problems.”
“What are friends for, Raul?”
Raul smiled and said, “Yes, and you are a good friend. I need to go home, Michael. Take care of yourself and this beautiful fiance of yours.”
“I will, Raul.”
Michael escorted Raul toward the door of Bruno’s and asked, “How are you getting home, Raul?”
“My car.”
“Oh, no, you aren’t. You’re not going to drive home. I’m going to call you a taxi.”
“But, Michael, I can’t afford a taxi and, besides, how am I going to get my car home?” Raul asked as they walked to a telephone.
“Give Bruno your address and he’ll have one of his people take it to your house tomorrow morning. He does that for his customers. Don’t worry about the taxi; I’ll pay for it.”
“But . . .”
“No buts, Raul. What are friends for?”
Michael made sure that Raul didn’t slip out and drive home. When the taxi arrived, he put Raul into the back seat. Then, he talked to the taxi driver. He gave the taxi driver a 50 Yenar note and said, “Take my friend to his house. Do not leave him anywhere but inside his house. By that, I mean make sure he gets inside his house and, preferably, his bed. I’ve got your taxi number and I know your company’s telephone number. I’m going to call him tomorrow and, if he’s not there, guess what?”
“You’re going to call my company and report me?”
“Exactly.”
“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll take care of your friend.”
“Good. And you can keep the excess of the 50 Yenars as a tip to guarantee you take good care of my friend.”
Michael returned to Raul, took a card out of his pocket, and put it into Raul’s shirt pocket. He said, “Raul, call this telephone number Monday morning. Tell Mrs. Impisi that I told you to contact her about a job as a mechanic. I don’t know if we’ve got any openings but maybe they can tell you where you can get a job.”
“Thanks, Michael. You really are a good friend.”
Michael smiled, patted Raul on his shoulder, and stepped back from the taxi allowing the driver to leave.
**********
On Monday morning, Michael stopped at Mrs. Impisi’s office. “Mrs. Impisi,” he said, “you should receive a telephone call from a Raul Lobo-Rojo this morning. He’ll be asking about a job. Please allow him to come in and interview for a job as a mechanic.”
“Michael, I don’t know if we even have an opening for that position. Why did you tell him to call about it?”
“I met him Friday evening. He’s been out of work for a while and needs a job, badly. Please allow him to apply for a position. He had a job and was offered a supervisor position after just 6 months. He has to be good to be offered that position that quickly.”
“Why is he unemployed?”
Michael hemmed for a few seconds before he said, “He was fired for fighting on the job.”
“WHAT!?”
“Now, before you go jumping to conclusions, let me tell you what he told me.
“Shortly after receiving the supervisor offer, he and his wife were invited to a party. While they were there, someone kept getting him a drink whenever he needed a refill. He believes someone was spiking his drink. After a short while, his wife was escorted to talk to someone else and Raul found himself talking to a porn actress. He blacked out and, when he awoke, he found himself in a bed, naked and the porn actress was on top of him, also naked. He started to push the actress off of him and heard the bedroom door open. When he turned his head, he saw his wife standing there, staring at him in disbelief.
“The following Monday, he went to work and heard one of the guys from the party laughing and bragging about the trick that had been played on Raul. Raul was so angry he hit the guy and dared him to stand up. Raul was fired for fighting.
“I don’t believe that Raul is the kind of person that would fight for no reason.”
“Well, if he calls, I’ll ask him to come in for an interview. While I’m waiting for his call, I’ll call Mr. Ursa and see if there’s an opening that Mr. Lobo-Rojo can apply for.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Impisi. I’m sure that we won’t regret hiring him.”
**********
About 30 minutes after Michael left Mrs. Impisi’s office, Raul called SoGa Industries. He asked Mrs. Lagomorph to connect him to Mrs. Impisi. After Mrs. Impisi answered the telephone, he said, “Mrs. Impisi, I woke up Saturday morning and found a business card in my shirt pocket that had your name and telephone number on it. There was also a message saying I should call you and ask about a possible job as a mechanic. It was signed by someone named Michael Thomson. Ma’am, I’ve racked my brain all weekend long trying to figure out how I know Michael Thomson. I can’t remember how I know him.”
“Well Mr. Lobo-Rojo, do you need a job?”
“Yes ma’am, desperately. I’ve been out of work for over six months. My wife has left me and refuses to talk to me.”
“Oh? Why did she leave you, if you don’t mind my asking?”
Raul paused for several seconds before he decided to answer. “We had been invited to a party and something happened there. It wasn’t something I wanted or even intended to do but, it happened. She became angry, went home, took our son, and left me. I hope that, if I get another job, she’ll listen to me and let me explain what happened that night.”
“I have a meeting with the president of SoGa Industries at 0400. Could you be here at 0700?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Good, I’ll see you then.”
**********
At 0400, Raul was sitting in Mrs. Impisi’s office filling out a job application form. He was nervous when he put down his past job experience but, he didn’t want to lie about anything. After about 15 minutes, he handed the application to Mrs. Impisi. After thanking him, she looked over the form while he sat nervously awaiting to hear her say, “Thank you for applying but, I see you lost your last job for fighting. We can’t take a chance on it happening again. I’m sorry.” It was the phrase, almost word for word, that he’d been hearing for the last 6 months.
Finally, Mrs. Impisi looked up from the job application and said, “So, you’re interested in a position as a mechanic?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“I need to ask you a few questions to see if you’re qualified for the position that you’re seeking. Do you mind?”
“No, ma’am. I have nothing to hide.”
“Good. Now, about the reason you left your last job.” Raul hung his head and started to stand up. “Where are you going?” Mrs. Impisi asked.
“Ma’am, I’ve heard that from every potential employer since I lost my last job. I know it means that I don’t have a snowball’s chance in Cooba of being hired. I’m sorry I took up your time.”
“Mr. Lobo-Rojo, please sit down. I have already heard about the fight you had on the job with your coworker. I want to hear your side of the story. If the reason for the fight is understandable and reasonable, we won’t hold it against you. Now, please tell me what the fight was about.”
Raul told Mrs. Impisi what had happened that caused him to become angry enough to fight someone. Mrs. Impisi listened sympathetically before saying, “Mr. Lobo-Rojo, I don’t understand why other potential employers wouldn’t hire you after you told them that story.”
“Well Mrs. Impisi, I never got the chance to tell them. All that happened was I put on the application that I was fired; they would ask me why I was fired; I’d tell them and they’d tell me that because I had a propensity for violence, they couldn’t use me. Mrs. Impisi, I’m not a violent person, normally but, like anybody, I can be pushed to defend myself and I consider setting me up like they did required me to defend myself.”
“I understand, Mr. Lobo-Rojo. I do need to ask you a few more questions. This won’t take too terribly long.” Mrs. Impisi asked Raul several questions pertaining to his experience and how he got it, what his future plans were, even what he did in his spare time.
After about 30 minutes of questions and answers, Mrs. Impisi said, “Hmm. It would seem that Mr. Thomson thinks you’d be a great asset to the company. I trust his opinion since he’s sent us several good candidates for a position with us and they’ve all turned out quite well. I have no doubt that you’d be a good fit with us, too. However, all I can do is ask you general questions. Mr. Ursa is the man you’ll need to convince you’re good enough for us. So, come with me.”
Mrs. Impisi led Raul down the hallway toward the garage. Raul was looking around and, as they passed the door next to Mrs. Impisi’s office, he noticed that on the door was printed:
Michael A. Thomson
Computer Information Technologies Manager
When Raul saw this, he stopped in his tracks. He looked at Mrs. Impisi and said, “Michael Thomson? Is he who told you to expect me?”
“Yes, he is, Mr. Lobo-Rojo.”
“Could I speak with him?”
“You can speak with him after you’re interviewed by Mr. Ursa.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Impisi. I really need to have my memory refreshed as to how he and I know each other.”
Mrs. Impisi smiled and started toward the garage.
**********
After walking for about 5 minutes, Mrs. Impisi and Raul arrived at the garage. Mrs. Impisi knocked on a door and, after receiving an invitation to enter, opened the door and ushered Raul inside. “Mr. Ursa,” she said, “this is Raul Lobo-Rojo. He wants to interview for the mechanic opening.”
Mr. Ursa, a 6’6” tall European brown bear, stood up and extended his hand to Raul. Raul took it and gave him a firm handshake. Looking at Mrs. Impisi, Mr. Ursa said, “Thank you, Dana.” Turning back to Raul, he said, “Please have a seat, Mr. Lobo-Rojo.” Raul sat down, put his hands in his lap, and tried to look as confident as possible. “Do you mind if I call you Raul?”
“Oh, no sir. I don’t mind. In fact, I would prefer that to being called Mr. Lobo-Rojo.”
“Good. You can call me Bart.”
“Bart? Not Bartholomew?”
“Yes. My parents chose to name me the diminutive of Bartholomew. As I understand it, there are three other Bartholomews in my family.” Mr. Ursa laughed.
“Now, you want a job as a mechanic, is that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right. I’m assuming that Mrs. Impisi has already asked you the basic questions concerning your qualifications for working here at SoGa so I’ll go ahead and test your abilities. Come with me, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
The two of them stood up and Raul followed Mr. Ursa out of his office. Mr. Ursa led Raul over to an automobile. “Raul, this vehicle doesn’t run. I know for a fact that there are 10 things wrong with it since I’m the one who disabled those 10 things. You have two hours to find those problems. Don’t correct those problems, just tell me what they are. To qualify for a position as a mechanic for SoGa, you’ll have to find no less than eight of the problems. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. I’ll see you two hours.”
Just before Mr. Ursa reached his office door, he was intercepted by a young raccoon. “Mr. Ursa?” The raccoon, Roy Raton, said.
“Yes, Roy?”
“Are you testing that guy to be a mechanic?”
“Yes, I am. Why?”
“Mr. Ursa, you know we don’t have any openings for a mechanic. Why are you testing him?”
“Because Mr. Blaidd asked me to. Nobody’s found enough problems with that vehicle to pass the test. When he fails, I can honestly tell Mr. Blaidd that he didn’t pass the test to be a mechanic here.”
“Oh! That makes sense, Mr. Ursa.”
“I know. That’s why I’m the manager and you’re the mechanic. Now, get back to work.”
Smiling impishly, Roy said, “Yes, sir.”
**********
For the next hour, Mr. Ursa would occasionally look up from his desk and watch Raul as he looked for the problems with the test vehicle. He would smile when he saw Raul scratching his head and then he’d go back to work on the paperwork on his desk. An hour after Raul started verifying potential problems, he was knocking on Mr. Ursa’s office door. Mr. Ursa looked up and, with a slight smile on his face, motioned for Raul to enter.
“Mr. Lobo-Rojo,” Mr. Ursa said as he looked at the clock, “it’s only been an hour. Are you giving up?”
“Oh, no sir. I found all 10 problems”
“What!? I don’t believe you. What problems did you find?”
Raul rattled off the 10 problems he found. With each new problem Raul described, the smile slowly faded from Mr. Ursa’s face. “You found all 10 problems in an hour? You found all 10 problems in an hour.” Mr. Ursa looked away for a second before saying, “Let me give Mr. Blaidd a call. Hold on.”
Mr. Ursa dialed Mr. Blaidd’s telephone number and, after two rings, said, “Miss Fuchs, this is Bart Ursa, may I speak with Mr. Blaidd, please?”
“Thank you.”
“Mr. Blaidd, I have Raul Lobo-Rojo in my office. He found the problems with the vehicle in an hour.”
“Yes, sir. An hour. He’s the first mechanic that solved all of those problems at all and definitely the first to do it in less than 2 hours.”
“Well, to be honest, sir, we don’t have an opening for a mechanic but, I’d really like to hire him if he’s that good.”
“Of course, sir. How much? I’m sure he’ll find that to be quite equitable. Thank you, sir.”
After he hung up the telephone, Mr. Ursa looked at Raul and said, “Well Raul, Mr. Blaidd is in agreement with me and thinks you should be hired as a mechanic for SoGa. He wants to offer you 50 Yenars an hour to be a mechanic here.”
“But, I heard you say that there aren’t any mechanic positions available. I don’t want to take someone’s job from them.”
Mr. Ursa laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Raul. Technically, we don’t have an opening but, our workload is increasing with the expansion of SoGa Industries. The position that you’ll be filling was going to open a week from today. I don’t know how you learned about it but, Mr. Blaidd wants to offer the position to you. What do you say?”
As tears of joy started to fall from his eyes, Raul jumped up from his seat, took Mr. Ursa’s hand, shook it, and said, “Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I have been without a job for 6 months because of what happened at my previous job. All I could do was earn a little money working on vehicles of friends. I’m so happy I can hardly stand it.”
Mr. Ursa said, “Well, I’ve never seen anybody cry tears of joy over getting a job before but, there’s a first time for everything, I guess. Okay, let me call Mrs. Impisi so she can take you to her office to fill out the employment forms. Oh, Mr. Blaidd wants you to start tomorrow if that’s possible.
“Yes, sir. I’ll be here. Thank you again.”
Mrs. Impisi arrived about 3 minutes later and she and Raul left Mr. Ursa’s office heading back to her office.
